The tech industry is rapidly growing worldwide, and today, most of the job openings are related to developers, engineers, and IT managers. A decade or two ago, such a role wasn’t as common.

Engineers and developers are hired in an organization to create internet applications and manage them. They are hired based on their technical skills but taking the next career step to management requires a more extensive skill set.

Whether you’re looking for a new job or want to improve your skills for an engineering manager, it’s essential to know what’s trending in the tech industry and what is required right now for engineering managers.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobs for IT managers will increase by 12% by 2026. For engineers looking for a new job role, it’s high time to brush up your skills to become a great IT manager.

Technical Skills

Being good at technical skills doesn’t mean you have to complete a higher qualification in engineering management.

Instead, stay up-to-date with the modern trends in the tech industry and hold a good command of the coding languages, such as Java, PHP, etc., and the tools and technologies you use. As a manager, you don’t necessarily know the internal workings of each, but you should be familiar with which strategies to use to succeed.

Managers with great technical skills are more appreciated by their team than managers with good skills that do not understand the business operations.

Communication Skills

Communication skills play a crucial role for every job role in an organization – and the IT manager is not an exception. Good communication skills don’t always mean verbal or even written skills – the best leader backs up their words with behavior that sets the standard for everyone around them.

Additionally, to become a great IT manager, you should know how to communicate with the senior management and other departments. You need to ensure that your team is collaborative and contributing meaningfully to the organization's success.

Conflict Management Skills

Like other employees, an IT manager is also an employee. When you submit your project, it comes back with a red mark and scalding comments from your boss, client, and team members. In such cases, you need to have excellent conflict management skills to cross through the issues blindly.

Your ability to handle conflicts makes you a great employee and increases the chance of getting promoted to higher positions.

Leadership Skills

Leadership skills are one of the most important skills that every manager should have. When you become a manager, you are not a regular employee anymore – you need to lead a team of 8-10 employees to accomplish your company’s desired goals.

Managers should have a vision of the results of their projects. Leadership skills don’t mean being strict with your team. Instead, you should motivate your employees, listen to their problems, and advise them to be more productive at their work. When employees are assigned to a manager with a positive attitude, they’re more likely to act similarly.

Presentation And Writing Skills

As an engineering manager, your writing and presentation skills exhibit your professional attitude and managerial vision.

Your writing and presentation skills serve as a mirror to your organizational and mental ability, allowing higher managers to favor your position and get their signatures on providing a budget for your proposal or your immediate promotion.

It is one of the key skills for an engineering manager if you are seeking a new job. You will face many rejections if you aren’t able to deliver your ideas through a presentation.

Delegation

Another important skill of an IT manager is the ability to distribute work to each employee. While teamwork is essential for every organization, you should know the strengths and weaknesses of your team members so that you know which task will be best achieved by which employee.

Knowing each team member, how much training they need, and when to back off and let them complete the task is challenging to maintain. Great IT managers allow their team members to excel in their field, learn new skills, and provide guidance, feedback, and direction whenever needed.

Project Management Skills

Project management skills are the continuation of the above skill. Getting your team to complete the task before the deadline involves all your skills, but managing your time and staff requires discipline.

Completing projects on time requires delegation skills. Once you allow possibilities and put the right employee on the right task, you will never face a delay in delivering your projects.

Attention To Detail

The tech industry is a complicated field as it requires mathematical, analytical, and technical skills. As a manager, you should have the right skills to ensure that every technical aspect is aligned with your dedicated project.

Even small mistakes in a project can cause several problems. Decision-making and leadership skills depend on how you better understand the goals and vision of your project. To make quick and thoughtful decisions, you need to have a deep understanding of the details of your project.

A Desire To Keep Growing

As the tech industry constantly evolves, IT managers need to learn the modern tools and technologies to streamline business operations.

The anticipation of learning new skills can help engineering managers to expand their technical skill sets and differentiate themselves in the competition for leadership roles.

No one is born perfect – we grow up with time and learn new skills.

If you want to brush up your skills to be at the top in the tech industry, it’s high time to improve by practicing, reading, and communicating with other professionals in the tech industry.

There is always room for growth and improvements for every employee – and managers are not an exception. Becoming an engineering manager can be challenging, but when you master the above-mentioned skills, you can be a great IT manager.